NFL player Anthony Wright provides food for the needy

VANCEBORO -- The line stretched from the Vanceboro Community Center nearly out to Main Street as hundreds of people waited Tuesday in the cold air and a mist of rain to get their holiday dinners.

Some leaned on walkers, some comforted crying children and some tucked their scarves a little tighter to block the bite of the wind.

They were all waiting for free turkey with all the trimmings - a gift from NFL football player and Vanceboro native Anthony Wright.

And the whole thing unfolded just the way he hoped it would - without him there.

"We never taught him to go after the limelight," said his mother, Donna. "We taught him the same things that we were taught growing up: You give back, no matter how much or how little you have, because it's the right thing to do. That's the way God wants it, and you reap what you sow."

For the third year in a row, Anthony Wright bought more than 300 turkeys to be given to needy residents of Vanceboro and its surrounding communities north of the Neuse River. Wright, a quarterback for the New York Giants, sponsors the main-dish giveaway, and the Vanceboro Christian Help Center and the Food Bank of Eastern North Carolina round up donations for the trimmings.

This year, every family with a blue ticket received a turkey, two cans of vegetables, soup, macaroni, sweet potatoes and bread. Older people, the disabled and those who could show a financial need were given priority.

"Now I know that at least I'll have something to eat for Christmas dinner," Vanceboro resident Mary Watson said as she held her blue ticket and waited for her turn to come. "I've never been out here before, but this is really a blessing."

Mary Jones waited in line with her adult daughter and a toddler. She has about 10 people to feed at Christmas, and the food she got Tuesday will help her stretch her money, she said.

"I have family coming from out of town and I was wondering how I was going to feed them all," she said. "And I usually have some extras show up at my door, too, and I don't want to turn anybody away."

The Rev. Joyce Maney, who leads the help center, said handing out the food is about more than meeting a physical need.

"Sometimes, people just need to know you care about them," she said. "The food is love for people who desperately need it."

Wright had intended to come and hand out the turkeys, but another appointment ran long and he was unable to get away from it, his mother said.

"He likes to do things in the background anyway," she said. "He's very modest and he said, ‘Mama, we don't want to keep people waiting in the cold. If you can do it without me, go on and do it.' This is just what he would like to see - people getting what they need, not because of him, but because of blessings he can share."